Sports Gambling Glossary

Accumulator: An accumulator is a series of bets that all have to win for the wager to cash.

Action: A wager placed on any event.

Alternate Lines: Sportsbooks offer lines on certain sporting events, as well as alternate lines that allow bettors different options. These alternate lines pay different odds for the same game.

Arbitrage: A betting strategy that is executed by wagering on all possible outcomes of the event so that there is a guaranteed profit regardless of the outcome. This is successful when there are unequal prices on different sportsbooks.

Bankroll: The funds in your account that are used to place wagers.

Bookmaker: A licensed person who sets odds and accepts wagers.

Buying Points: An adjusted line in the bettor’s favor at the expense of a lesser payout.

Chalk: The team or player who is favored in a certain event.

Cover: A term used to decipher if a team has beat the spread. For example, if a team is a 6-point favorite and they win by 8, they have covered the spread.

Draw/Push: If the final falls exactly on the set wager, the bet is a draw/push and will be voided and bettors will receive their money back. A draw and a push can be used interchangeably.

Edge: An edge is an advantage that the bettor has against the bookmakers, which most likely will end up in a profit.

Even: A wager where you are not paying any vig and returns the same amount that was risked (i.e. EV/+100).

Exacta: When you predict the first two places of a race/tournament in the correct order.

Favorite: When the oddsmakers favor a team to win the game or match.

The Field: Choosing to wager on the field refers to selecting every team/athlete who is not listed for a specific wager.

First Half: A wager that can be placed on the result of the first half or half time result of a match.

Future: A type of wager that will be decided in the future. It can be a bet on a title, series, award etc.. For example, a bettor can place a wager on the New Orleans Saints to win the Super Bowl prior to the season.

Hedge: Hedging is a tactic used by bettors to reduce risk of their previous wagers or guarantee a profit from a wager.

Hook: The hook is an extra half-point that bettors can buy to get a more appealing line.

Juice: Juice is slang for “vig” which means the money that a sportsbook takes from you for taking your bet (i.e. -110).

Limit: The set number that a sportsbook will take on a certain wager.

Lines: Another word for the odds.

Live Betting: Live betting is the process of placing a bet on an event that has already started. The oddsmakers alter odds throughout the course of a game, depending on how likely or unlikely an outcome may happen

Lock: A term for a wager that is said to be an easy winner, but don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Margin: When someone bets the margin, they are betting on a team to win or lose by a specific number of points. For example, the Cleveland Browns to win by 4-7 points. The Browns must win by 4, 5, 6, or 7 points to cash this margin wager.

Middle/Middling: Middling is the action of betting both sides of a game and having an opportunity to win both bets. With the movement of line spreads, you can get the favored team at -7, but if the line shifts to -10, you can bet the underdog at +10 as well. Both your bets would cash, if the favored team wins by 8, 7, or 9.

Moneyline: Moneyline is a type of wager in which you bet on a team to win a game or match straight-up.

Off the board: Sometimes bookmakers will remove odds from the betting board, this is normally due to uncertainty of an injury or weather.

Over/Under: The Over/Under, otherwise known as the totals wager or abbreviated as O/U, refers to the betting line set by oddsmakers on the total combined points in a game scored by both teams. Another term for the Over/Under is the totals wager.

Parlay: A series of bets that all must win to cash your ticket. Parlays are risky and often tough to cash but receive higher payouts.

Pick ‘Em: A pick ‘em is when neither team is favored in a game, which means the spread is 0.

Prop Bet: A prop bet is anything other than the outcome of the game. The over/under is considered a prop bet, but there are also other prop bets you can make, such as how many passing yards a player will throw.

Public Betting Percentage: The total percentage of all bets placed by the public on a wager.

Puppy: Another term for the underdog.

Real Time Odds: The oddsmakers will update and post real time odds throughout a game. You can place wagers on these, which is called live betting.

Reverse Line Movement: Refers to the odds movement that contradicts the wagers of the General Public.

Return-On-Investment (ROI): a performance measure that is used to evaluate how efficient an investment is.

Run line: A run line is the point spread for baseball. It is normally around 1.5 in baseball due to the small volatility in scoring.

Runner: Someone who places a bet for another individual.

Sharp money: Sharp money is money that is wagered by sports bettors whose opinion is respected by the sportsbooks.

Steam Move: A sudden movement in the lines due to heavy betting action.

Straight Up: Straight up is the outcome of a team winning or losing a game, no spread is involved.

Take the Points: When you place a bet on the spread of an underdog, you are taking the points offered by the sportsbook. For example, you are taking the points if you take a team that is +8.

Teaser: A teaser bet is comparable to a parlay wager, in which you are betting on two or more straight bets that all must hit for you to cash your ticket. The distinction between a parlay and a teaser is that each individual line in a teaser has been adjusted in the bettor’s favor by the specific number of points of the teaser.

Tissue Price: The initial odds offered by a sportsbook on a game.

Tout: Someone who sells or gives out their betting plays.

Units: A measurement of the size of a bettor’s wager.